Well packer



Nov. 1, 1966 G. H. TAUSCH 3,282,343

WELL PACKER Filed June 1, 1964 6. H. 7270a C/i INVENTOR.

sylz wlf ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,282,343 WELL PACKER Gilbert H. Tauscli, Houston, T ex., assignor to Camco, Incorporated, Houston, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed June 1, 1964, Ser. No. 371,432 6 Claims. (Cl. 166-138) This invention relates to subsurface well equipment and more particularly to an improved packer assembly to be incorporated in a tubing string and lowered to a selected depth in a well hole and there manipulated solely by controlled reciprocation of the tubing string for sealing across the surrounding annulus space.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved releasable clutch connection between a tubing string mandrel and a carrier of a well wall engageable friction block and which connection includes a clutch element freely rotatable in the carrier for transfer between circularly spaced apart longitudinal guideways in the mandrel and at one end of the range of mandrel reciprocation relative to the carrier while the carrier is in friction holding engagement with the well wall whereby both the carrier and the mandrel are substantially relieved from torque during operations of setting and releasing a deformable packing collar.

A further object is to provide a packed assembly in which a clutch pin mounting ring is rotatably pocketed internally of a slip and friction block retainer or carrier for accommodating circular pin travel from one to the other of selected long and short peripheral grooves in the mandrel and through a circular transfer passage having clutch pin engageable camming formations by which longitudinal mandrel movement is converted to rotation of the pin mounting ring without slippage of the friction block carrier on the wall of the well.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following specification and the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B are companion views partly in elevation and partly in vertical section of a packer assembly positioned for downward travel within a well hole; and

FIG. 2 is a transverse section on line 22 of FIG. 1A.

In the drawing, a tubing string member or hollow mandrel 1 has the usual opposite terminal connections for coupling in end to end succession with other tubular sections 2 and 3 of a well tubing string. The top mandrel connection is illustrated as a coupling collar 4 having a downwardly facing abutment flange 5 seating against the top end face of a packing collar 6 of rubber or other suitable elastic deformable material embraced on the mandrel 1. For stop abutment with the lower end face of the packing collar 6, there is an annular upwardly facing slip expander collar 7 above a tubular clutch unit 8 slidably sleeved on the mandrel below the packing collar 6. The clutch unit 8 includes :an outer tubular wall 9 of a retainer cage having circularly spaced apart windows within each of which are carried for lateral projection a slip segment 10 having downwardly facing wickers together with a friction block or drag shoe 11. Bearing outwardly on the friction block 11 are vertically spaced apart coil springs 12-12 exerting outward resilient bias on the block. At its inner end, the uppermost spring 12 is centered on a boss of a dependent tang 13 integral with the slip 10 and this spring yieldably retracts the slip and bottoms the tang 13 against the upper portion of an inner cage wall 14. A centering button fixedly secured on the outer face of the wall 14 is fitted within the inner end coils of the lower nested springs 12. j

The inner cage wall 14 has a laterally offset lower portion fitted within and secured by fastening studs 15 to the bottom portion of the outer wall 9 and the inside of the offset affords an internal annular pocket or grooved ice runway for mounting a rotatable ring 16 held in place by a circular retainer 17 screw threaded within the lower end of the wall 14. Mounted by .and projected inwardly from the ring 16 are two diametrically opposite clutch pins 18 for reception within a set of co-operating slots or guideways in the peripheral surface of the mandrel 1. This mounting of the clutch pins accommodates their free turning relative to the cage subassembly unit in a path concentric with and about the longitudinal axis of the packer unit.

Conveniently, the clutch pin receiving guideways are provided by shaped edges of slotted and cut-away portions in a pair of axially spaced apart tubes 19 and 20 sleeved on and positioned by rivets 21-21 with the mandrel 1. As seen in FIG. 1A, the uppermost tube 19 is of an outside diameter to fit slidably within the cage subassembly or clutch unit 8 but is larger than the inside diameter of the slip expander 7 and the upper end of the tube affords .a stop shoulder which in the position of the parts illustrated engages the bottom of the slip expander 7. In this relative position, the deformable packing collar 6 is unstressed and fully contracted. For selective reception of the diametrically opposite clutch pins 18, the tube 19 has four circularly spaced apart grooves or guideways which open through the bottom of the tube and extend longitudinally upwardy to end short of the upper portion of the tube and these longitudinal slots in circular succession are alternately long and short. That is to say, one pair of diametrically opposed slots, as indicated at 22, have their upper dead ends spaced below the top edge of the tube 19 a distance less than the upper dead ends of the other pair of grooves 23. The upper end of each short groove 23 constitutes a terminal stop shoulder engageable with the clutch pin, as seen in FIG. 1A, at a proper distance below the abutment flange 5 so as to precludelrelative movement of the clutch unit 8 and the abutment stop 5 toward one another in the range which would apply axial squeezing force on the collar 6 for its deformation and radial enlargement. The difference in axial spacing between the upper ends of the long and short grooves is sufficient that when the clutch pins are positioned within the longer groove 22 the range of relative movement is extended for enabling the abutment flange 5 to move toward the clutch unit 8 and effect packing collar deformation.

Clutch pin transfer from one longitudinal groove of guideway to another can take place, with the packer unit being positioned at a desired depth within a well hole and its liner casing 24, in response solely to controlled tubing string reciprocation. Such transfer is through the annular guideway 25 provided between the longitudinally spaced apart adjoining edge formations of the tubes 19 and 20. Between successive longitudinal guideways 22 and 23, the lower edges of the tube 19 are inclined upwardly in the direction of usual counterclockwise rotation of the clutch pins from their position seen in FIG. 2. Such upwardly inclined edges constitute camming surfaces 26-26 for engagement with a clutch pin and to shift the same through the surface passageway from alignment with one longitudinal guideway to alignment with the next succeeding guideway when the clutch pin and its mounting ring 16 rotate freely within the stationary clutch unit 8. In alignment with and below each longitudinal guideway, the upper edge of the tube 20 is inclined downwardly in the counterclockwise direction and to a point below an adjacent camming surface 26 and provides a co-operating camming surface 27 for engagement with a clutch pin at the bottom of each longitudinal guideway. Such contact can impel the pin to turn circularly within the annular passage 25 and into a position below the camming surface 26. Clutch pin transfer is initiated by pin hearing on an upwardly facing surface 27 at the end of an upward reciprocatory stroke of the tubing string relative to the clutch unit 8 and continues to completion as 'aa desired depth location. During the lowering-in operation,

the clutch pins 18, because of their abutment with the upper dead end portions of the slots 23, pull the clutch unit downwardly as a unit with the tubing string mandrel so that the packing collar 6 and the slips 10 are held retracted out of contact with the well wall. The friction blocks ll drag on the well casing surface and center the packer assembly. These friction blocks also afford drag resistance to upward clutch unit travel with the tubing string whenever the tubing string is raised in the Well. Thus, when packer descent reaches the location at which the deformable collar is to be set, the tubing string is elevated for the distance to bring the transfer passage 25 to the clutch pins and the upwardly facing camming surfaces 27 into slide bearing with the pins, initiating their circular travel as permitted by rotation of their mounting ring 16. When the clutch pins have turned below the inclined camming surfaces 26, the tubing string, on being started on its downstroke, brings the camming surfaces 26 into engagement with the clutch pins for an additional turning travel into alignment with the next longitudinal and long guideway 22. This completes the transfer and continuation of the mandrel downstroke brings the upper reach of the long guideways closer to the clutch pins but without restricting the mandrel downstroke for transmitting force through the flange 5, the packing collar 6 and the slip expander 7, whose internal wedging contact with the tapered slips 10 first expands the slips outwardly into gripping and holding bearing on the casing and thereafter provides stop abutment for the bottom of the packing collar 6 which is thereupon deformed and crowded into sealing and annulus close-off contact with the interior of the well casing 24.

At any subsequent time, a packer which has been set can be removed or repositioned in the well by again freeing the packing collar 6 of axially applied squeezing force and in response solely to relative elevation of the tubing string mandrel for raising the abutment flange upwardly away from the slip expander 7 and then, by reason of the contact by the upwardly facing top edge of the tube 19 with the bottom of the expander 7, also raising the expander for releasing and allowing contraction of the slips 10. The friction blocks 11 will tend to hold the clutch unit on the casing wall until continued elevation of the mandrel brings the crossover passage 25 and its bottom margins into pickup relation with the clutch pins for thereafter dragging the clutch unit upwardly. As a result of such clutch pin contact with the camming surfaces 27,

the mounting ring will have been partially rotated within the transfer passage and into a position which will enable them to be shifted into the next succeeding and shorter guideways should the mandrel again be moved in the downstroke direction. The packer unit is then ready to be reset in the same well hole and without complete removal therefrom. It can also be completely removed from the well hole if that is desired.

The rotational mounting of the clutch pins enables the improved packer construction to be manipulated entirely in response to tubing string reciprocation and without the imposition of stresses which might cause wear and twist- 'off which might otherwise result should any of the packer parts tend to stick or too tightly hug the casing wall.

Various modifications can be made in the detail of the preferred embodiment illustrated and without departing from the invention as set forth in'the attached claims.

What is claimed is v i 1. In a well packer arranged for expansion and contraction of a deformable packing collar in response solely to tubing string reciprocation, packing collar abutment means having a friction slide bearing engageable with the wall of a well, an inwardly projecting clutch pin mounted by said means for free rotation about the longitudinal axis of the well packer, a tubing string mandrel slidably projected through said abutment means and provided with a set of clutch pin receiving guideways including an annular guideway and a series of circularly spaced apart guideways each communicating with the annular guideway and extending longitudinally therefrom to a blind end spaced a given longitudinal distance from the annular guideway, such blind end distances in the case of alternate ones of the circularly successive guideways be ing less than in the case of next successive guideways and said annular guideway having camming formations which upon engagement by the clutch pin and in response to mandrel reciprocation effects clutch pin rotation from alignment with one longitudinal guideway and into alignment with the next circularly succeeding guideway.

2. In a well packer having a deformable packing collar, collar abutting sleeve means having a friction block for friction slide bearing on a well wall and an inwardly projected clutch pin mounted for rotation in a circular path concentrically of the sleeve means, a tubing string mandrel fitted within the sleeve means for relative reciprocation and provided with a collar abutment formation which with reciprocation of the mandrel moves toward and from the sleeve means to control collar deformation, a clutch pin receiving guideway in the mandrel having a terminal stop shoulder fixedly located relative to said abutment formation as to be engaged with said clutch pin for locking the sleeve means and the abutment formation in spaced apart relation against collar deforming movement toward one another, a second clutch pin guideway circularly spaced from the first mentioned guideway and extended longitudinally beyond said stop formation in the direction toward said abutment formation and a clutch pin transfer passage between said guideways accommodating clutch pin rotation between said guideways.

3. In a well packer, a deformable packing collar, a tubing string mandrel extending through the packing collar and having a downwardly facing force transmitting abutment with the upper end of the packing collar, a sleeve subassembly engageable with the lower end of the packer and slidably sleeved on the mandrel, said subassembly including a friction block for frictional slide engagement with the wall of a well hole and a rotatable ring having an inwardly projecting clutch pin, said mandrel having first and second longitudinally extending pin receiving guideways and a circularly extending pin receiving guideway connecting the longitudinal guideways for clutch pin transfer from one to the other thereof as accommodated by ring rotation without relative rotation of the mandrel and the sleeve subassembly, the first longitudinal guideway terminating upwardly in a clutch pin stop which limits downward travel of said mandrel and force transmitting abutment relative to said sleeve subassembly to an amount which exceeds the distance through which the force transmitting abutment moves toward the sleeve subassembly for application of said force on the packing collar.

4. In a well packer assembly, an outer sleeve having a friction block for slide friction bearing on the wall of a well, a clutch pin projecting inwardly of and movably mounted by the sleeve for relative rotation circularly of the sleeve, and a tubing string mandrel fitted within the sleeve for relative longitudinal movement by which packer action is controlled and provided with a set of guideways on the periphery thereof for selective reception of said clutch pin, said set of guideways including circularly spaced apart and longitudinally extended guideways and a cir cularly extended transfer guideway interconnecting the longitudinally extended guideways for the relative rotation therein and the transfer of the clutch pin between said o gitud na y extended guideways, said longitudinally extended guideways being of lengths respectively diifering and providing relatively long and short ranges of relative longitudinal movement between the mandrel and the clutch pin such that said relative movement is limited and precludes packer action when the clutch pin is within a relatively short guideway and that such relative movement when the clutch pin is within a relatively long guideway permits packer action.

5. In a well packer for assembly as part of a tubing string and to be set at a desired location within a Well bore in response solely to tubing string reciprocation, a tubing mandrel having means for connection in a tubing string and carrying exteriorly thereof a deformable packing collar together with a fixed abutment for the upper end of the collar and slidable abutment means for the lower end of the collar, said slidable abutment means comprising in axial succession a slip expander sleeve, a slip and a casing engageable friction block, a rotatable cage for the slip and the friction block, a clutch pin projected inwardly from and mounted by the cage for relative rotation about the axis of said cage, said mandrel having in its peripheral surface a set of longitudinally extending and circularly spaced apart clutch pin receiving grooves and an interconnecting clutch pin transfer groove extending circumferentially of the mandrel and having camming faces arranged to rotate the clutch pin upon engagement therewith and from alignment with one groove and into alignment with another groove in response to reciprocation of the mandrel, one of said grooves being of a vertical length to end upwardly at a point spaced below the packer collar a distance to engage the clutch pin therein and thereby limit downward movement of said mandrel and said fixed abutment means toward the cage and lower abutment means to an extent less than would deform the packing collar, another groove of the set being of a length to end above said point by an amount which accommodates downward packer setting movement of the mandrel and the fixed abutment means relative to a casing braked cage and lower abutment means.

6. In a well packer having a deformable packing collar, a tubing string mandrel having a collar abutment formation and controlling collar deformation solely by mandrel reciprocation, a set of clutch pin guideways in the mandrel including a circular transfer passage and relatively long and short longitudinal guideways extending from the transfer passage toward said abutment formation, collar abutment means sleeved on the mandrel and provided with a friction block for friction slide bearing on a well wall, a clutch pin projecting inwardly from said collar abutment means for reception by the guideways in controlling relative mandrel reciprocation within said collar abutment means and a clutch pin carrying ring rotatably mounted in said collar abutment means for accommodating clutch pin rotative travel through the transfer passage and between the circularly longitudinal guideways.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 588,384 8/1897 Black 166138 2,776,012 1/1957 Baker l66138 X 3,209,832 10/1965 Tausch 166-240 X CHARLES E. OCONNELL, Primary Examiner.

D. H. BROWN, Assistant Examiner. 

6. IN A WELL PACKER HAVING A DEFORMABLE PACKING COLLAR, A TUBING STRING MANDREL HAVING A COLLAR ABUTMENT FORMATION AND CONTROLLING COLLAR DEFORMATION SOLELY BY MANDREL RECIPROCATION, A SET OF CLUTCH PIN GUIDEWAYS IN THE MANDREL INCLUDING A CIRCULAR TRANSFER PASSAGE AND RELATIVELY LONG AND SHORT LONGITUDINALLY GUIDEWAYS EXTENDING FROM THE TRANSFER PASSAGE TOWARD SAID ABUTMENT FORMATION, COLLAR ABUTMENT MEANS SLEEVED ON THE MANDREL AND PROVIDED WITH A FRICTION BLOCK FOR FRICTION SLIDE BEARING ON A WELL WALL, A CLUTCH PIN PROJECTING INWARDLY FROM SAID COLLAR ABUTMENT MEANS FOR RECEPTION BY THE GUIDEWAYS IN CONTROLLING RELATIVE MANDREL RECIPROCATION WITHIN SAID COLLAR ABUTMENT MEANS AND A CLUTCH PIN CARRYING RING ROTATABLY MOUNTED IN SAID COLLAR ABUTMENT MEANS FOR ACCOMMODATING CLUTCH PIN ROTATIVE TRAVEL THROUGH THE TRANSFER PASSAGE AND BETWEEN THE CIRCULARLY LONGITUDINAL GUIDEWAYS. 